Rodney Sanders saw the green flag and then proceeded to pounce on the competition Friday night at the Jackson Motor Speedway, scoring a $3,000 victory.
The two-time USMTS National Champion held a comfortable lead for most of the 30-lap main event, but a caution with two laps remaining gave hard-charging Zack VanderBeek a shot at the leader. Nevertheless, Sanders held on for the win while VanderBeek finished second at the 1/4-mile dirt oval for the second year in a row.
Last year VanderBeek inherited the win after apparent winner Lucas Lee was disqualified during post-race technical inspections. This time around ‘The Z-Man’ wasn’t as lucky and had to settle for a runner-up paycheck behind ‘The Sandman.’
Terry Phillips and Logan Robertson each took turns chasing Sanders with Phillips eventually claiming the third-place finish while Robertson followed Timothy Culp across the finish line in the fifth spot.
Joe Duvall came from the 14th starting position to finish sixth, Lance Walker passed ten cars in his USMTS debut to claim seventh, Zane Ferrell earned eighth place, Jeremy Idom nabbed ninth and new Grant Junghans USMTS Rookie of the Year points leader Mike Striegel rounded out the top ten.
With his 87th career USMTS triumph, Sanders took command in the USMTS National Championship points standings as well as the Summit USMTS Southern Series powered by MSD.
For additional news visit www.usmts.com
